With Mr. Barack Obama being elected as the 44th president of the United States in 2009, the entire global economy was hit with changes. During the same term we had Mr. Manmohan Singh as our Prime Minister. Talking about India’s relation with USA, before Mr. Barack Obama it was Mr. Bush who was the president and since then ties with USA were not as strong as they are today. One can very well say that we were not connected well with the USA.

The following factors/issues have motivated me to select this topic;

H1-B Visa.
China’s relation with Pakistan.
US aid to Pakistan ($900 million in security aid).
CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor).
Defence trade between India and US.
India shares similar democratic values with the US.
India is expected to become the third largest economy by 2030.
India’s geographical position with respect to Russia, China and Pakistan.

ORIGIN AND NATURE

From Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit in 1949 to Narendra Modi’s upcoming trip in September 2014, a number of leaders of the world’s largest democracy have been hosted by the world’s oldest democracy. In fact, a momentous political alteration in international relations in recent years is the evolvement of engagement between India and the United States of America.
Relations between the world’s two largest democracies have been both intriguing as well as complex. In the context of India-United States relations, much remains to be understood about the different sources of conflict in their relations, and how they have interacted over different periods of time and in divergent policy-making contexts. Any attempt to do this would require an inquiry into the situational and personal variables, cultural influences, the impact of constituents on the negotiation process and other related aspects. Needless to say, over the years, one has also noticed the role of the interacting variables in India-US relations. The nature and content of relations between New Delhi and Washington have been an enigma and a paradox over the last five decades. India’s relations with the US have always been a roller coaster. A former Indian Ambassador to the US termed the relations as “a pattern of misunderstanding, miscalculations and missed opportunities.”
Any analysis of India-US relations will not be complete without the inclusion of the economic interests and concerns of the two. There are tremendous possibilities in India-US economic ties, which could even make India the focus of Washington’s South Asia policy. As India gets enmeshed in the global financial system, one can expect a growth in economic relations between the two countries. The Clinton Administration has recognised India as a major player in the economic field. South Asia as a whole is increasingly becoming a region of intense growth and development. The economic liberalisation policy of the Government of India has now paved the way for unprecedented trade and investment between India and the US. India is on the US Commerce Department’s top ten “big emerging markets.”
The US is the largest trading partner with India. The total volume of bilateral trade is now in the range of nine and ten billion dollars. India has a favourable balance of trade with the US, with a trade surplus of nearly $500 million to $1 billion. The US is now the single largest investor in India accounting for almost billion $4 out of a total of about $12 billion worth of foreign investments cleared by the Government of India since 1991. Being the largest foreign investor in India, the US accounts for about half of all foreign equity. Much as exports to the US are important for India, the US also needs the Indian market in a global market that is increasingly becoming competitive. India-US relations in trade and commerce should be facilitated on the basis of bilateral economic equations. The tremendous increase in India-US economic cooperation is the cornerstone of the new relationship between the two countries.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In spite of the Cold War having come to an end, the basic parameters remain largely unchanged. Washington now realises that it has to reckon with New Delhi’s views on regional as well as global issues. The swings and shifts in India-United States relations have largely been the result of the clash of US global strategic interests, concerns and priorities as opposed to the regional security interests, priorities and concerns of India as per (Appadorai & Rajan, 1985).

The nuclear issue between India and the US remains as hot as it was 22 years ago when India conducted a peaceful nuclear explosion. Differences over the nuclear issue have greatly complicated the course of India-US relations and reflected the discordant aspect of their relations. In US-India relations, the nuclear divide may be treated as either a dependent or an independent variable. All the same, it has acted as a factor further complicating ties between the two countries. Both the countries do not hesitate to hide their basic differences over the issue. The US sold the idea of a regional nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with India. For a time, even Kashmir was seriously perceived by Washington as a flashpoint for a possible nuclear conflict. Consistently attempts were made by the Clinton Administration to link Kashmir to non-proliferation, missile technology and arms control issues. India has contended that it will not give up its nuclear weapon option, and that it will constrain its nuclear programme only within the framework of global, non-discriminatory agreements. How India and the US will square the circle of non-proliferation in the region is a question that remains to be answered. There is a wide gulf in the US and Indian perceptions of global and national security. It is believed in certain quarters that the Clinton Administration’s nuclear policy towards South Asia is clearly India focussed, because China cannot be touched, and that Pakistan is a problem.